Tayyaba Zafar (born 29 May 1983) is a Pakistani-born astronomer and science communicator. She is widely known to the public as the first woman from Pakistan who visited Antarctica under the Homeward Bound Program. She completed her PhD in astronomy from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

, Denmark in 2011 and worked at the

European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...

and

Australian Astronomical Observatory The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, was an optical and near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in North Ryde in suburban Sydney, Australia. Originally funded jointly by the U ...

. She researches how metals and dust form in distant galaxies and their effects are on star formation and other galaxy properties.

Early life and education

Zafar was born and grew up in

Lahore, Pakistan Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. She completed her PhD in 2011, at the Dark Cosmology Center,

with a thesis entitled ''Spectroscopy of high redshift sightlines''. This started her astrophysics career working on

interstellar medium In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter and radiation that exist in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as dust and cosmic rays. It fills interstella ...

studies.

Research career

After completing her PhD, Zafar accepted a postdoctoral position at the Laboratorie d’Astrophysique de Marseille, France. In 2013, she moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to take up a fellowship at the

(ESO). She later accepted a Research Astronomer role at the

. She moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in November 2015, and supported the Anglo Australian Telescope at the

Siding Spring Observatory Siding Spring Observatory near Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, part of the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA) at the Australian National University (ANU), incorporates the Anglo-Australian Telescope along with a coll ...

. In mid-2018, she was hired by

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

where she is currently serving as a Senior-Lecturer. Her research focuses on the obscured universe and its connection with properties of galaxies. As of June 2021, SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System lists her 59 refereed publications.

Science communication

Dr Zafar became recognised as a public figure when she visited Antarctica in 2018 under the

Homeward Bound Homeward may refer to: * ''Homeward'' (film), a 2019 film * "Homeward" (song), a song by The Sundays from their 1997 album ''Static and Silence'' * "Homeward" (''TNG'' episode), a ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode from the seventh seaso ...

project, a personal and professional development program to empower

STEMM STEMM is an American metal band from Niagara Falls, New York. STEMM was formed in 1998 by Joe Cafarella. He, along with Louie and Jimi Penque, Russ Martin, and Alex Scouten made up the original lineup of the band. Alex left the band in 1999, ...

women leaders. She has given public talks such as for Sydney Science Festival, talks to amateur astronomical societies, schools, and universities and written scientific online articles. She is a member of the 2021 CSIRO STEM Professionals in Schools, Australia program to team up with teachers to educate and inspire students. She has given multi-lingual TV interviews, including a one-to-one interview for Such TV and breakfast show with Lahore News TV. She has radio and print interviews including interviews for BBC World,

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

, SBS, and EFE Verde. She has online articles on astronomy, instrumentation, and women in STEM issues. She has been invited as a panelist for women in STEM discussion panels e.g., Sydney Science Trail in 2020.

Awards

*2020 NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Award for scientific contributions and communications in Australia.

Selected publications

*Zafar, T., D. Watson, J. P. U. Fynbo, D. Malesani, P. Jakobsson, and A. de Ugarte Postigo 2011. The extinction curves of star-forming regions from z = 0.1 to 6.7 using GRB afterglow spectroscopy. Astronomy and Astrophysics 532, A143
2011A&A...532A.143Z
*Zafar, T., C. Péroux, A. Popping, B. Milliard, J.-M. Deharveng, and S. Frank 2013. The ESO UVES advanced data products quasar sample. II. Cosmological evolution of the neutral gas mass density. Astronomy and Astrophysics 556, A141
2013A&A...556A.141Z
*Zafar, T. and D. Watson 2013. The metals-to-dust ratio to very low metallicities using GRB and QSO absorbers; extremely rapid dust formation. Astronomy and Astrophysics 560, A26
2013A&A...560A..26Z
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zafar, Tayyaba Pakistani astronomers Women astronomers 21st-century astronomers 1983 births 21st-century Pakistani scientists 21st-century women scientists Living people Science communicators Scientists from Lahore University of the Punjab alumni University of Copenhagen alumni Academic staff of Macquarie University Pakistani emigrants to Australia